Water-cooling system for engines.



F. D. HOWE.

WATER COOLING SYSTEM FOR ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 9, 1913.

Patented Mar. 14, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET ANN THE COLUMBIA PLMtlOGRAPX-I 60., WASHINGTON. D. Q

F, D. HOWE.

WATER COOLING SYSTEM FOR ENGINES.

Ill

* UNITED STATES PATENT orrion.

FRANK D. HOWE, 0F AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T0 INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

WATER-COOLING SYSTEM FOR ENGINES.

Application filed June 9, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK D. Hows, a citizen of the United States, residing at Akron, in the county of Summit and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Water-Cooling Systems for Engines, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact specification.

My invention relates to water cooling systems for engines, and in its present form is particularly adapted for use in connection with automobiles.

It is my object in connection with a device of this class to improve the efliciency of an engine by varying the degree of cooling which the water undergoes in the radiator to comply with the requirements of the engine under different weather conditions.

It is also my object to prevent loss of water from a radiator in the form of escaping steam.

Furthermore, it is my object in connection with a water cooling system for automobiles, to utilize the air that has passed through the radiator for a purpose such as warming the operators compartment, and finally it is my object to produce certain advantageous arrangements in the location and operation of a radiator of this class whereby a thermosiphon system of water circulation is made possible, and whereby a more compact and efiicient construction of the radiator will result.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of my improved radiator, will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a front elevation of my device applied to the frame of a motor truck, parts of the frame and fan casing being broken away to show the arrangement of the fan; Fig. 2 shows the side elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1, an engine being shown therein in dotted lines, and certain parts of the frame being broken away to show the shifting partition; Fig. 3 shows a view similar to that of Fig. 2 ercept that the shifting partition is shown in a difierent position of its movement; and Fig. 4c shows a side elevation of a modified form of my device, the radiator therein being shown in a position at the rear end of an engine.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 1 1-, 1916.

Serial No. 772,683.

Similar numerals are given the corresponding parts throughout the several views.

eferring in detail to the drawings, it will be seen that I have shown an engine 10 of ordinary construction mounted upon a frame 11 of a vehicle in the conventional manner employed in motor trucks, that is, with the engine in position beneath the driver or operators compartment, the location of which is indicated in the drawings generally by the numeral 12. My improved radiator is substantially U shaped in cross section, and comprises a front cooling wall 18 and a rear cooling wall l-l spaced apart therefrom, both of said walls being mounted in a frame or casing 15. The upper ends of the cooling walls communicate in common with a tank 16, and the lower ends communicate with separate and individual tanks 17 and 17 F or conducting the cold water from the radiator to the engine jacket, I employ a pipe 18 connected at one end to the bottom tank on the front radiator wall and at its other end to the lower portion of the water jacket on the engine. For returning the hot water to the radiator, I employ a pipe 19 connected at one end to the top portion of the engine jacket and at its other end to the bottom tank on the rear radiator wall. Howey r, if it is desired, the arrangement of the pipes 18 and 19 may be reversed, as shown in the modified form in Fig. 4.

It will be seen from the manner in which the radiator communicates with the engine jacket, that hot water enters the radiator at the bottom portion of the rear wall and in rising to the upper tank, any steam that may have been returned with the water will, under ordinary circumstances, be condensed before it has reached the top of the radiator. In this connection, it is customary in nearly all forms of radiators to employ vents or openings in the top of the radiator for permitting steam to escape, and where the return pipe from the engine enters the upper portion of the radiator, much steam passes through the vents, carrying with it water. In so providing for the condensation of steam, I have successfully overcome one of the serious disadvantages found generally in radiators of this class. i

I prefer to arrange the radiator, when used in connection with automobile trucks, above the upper plane of the engine so that the motor or engine may be readily removed without disturbing the radiator. The extremely small vertical dimension of my radiator makes possible this arrangement and, obviously, with the radiator located in a position above the engine, it is especially adapted for the thermo-siphon system of water circulation. However, if desired, a pump may be employed for this purpose and my object in mentioning this fact is to bring out one of the important advantages of my improved construction.

For circulating air through the walls of the radiator, I employ a fan 20 arranged immediately below the rear radiator wall and operated by the engine in any well known manner. Surrounding the fan is a casing 21 open at its top and rear side and sopositioned relative to the radiator that a suction from the fan will be directed between the radiator walls. A stationary partition 22 is arranged longitudinally between the walls of the radiator and a shifting partition 23, angular in shape and carried upon pivoted arms 24, is arranged in position to co-act with the stationary partition. A curved defiector plate 25 is arranged at one end of the shifting partition and spaced apart therefrom to form a passageway 26.

In the operation of my device with the shifting partition in its rearward position of movement, as shown in Fig. 2, the suction created by the fan draws cold air from the outside through both walls of the radiator in the directions shown by the arrows in said figure. \Vith the partition moved to its forward position, as shown in Fig. 3,

the influence of the fan upon the rear radiator wall is cut off by the stationary and shifting partitions, and air will be drawn inwardly through the forward wall only. The current thrown 05 by the fan in a radial direction enters the passageway 26 and is deflected by the plate 25 upwardly and through the rear radiator wall, as shown by the arrows in said figure, to a compartment designed to be occupied by the operator. It is obvious from the foregoing that cold air may be circulated through both walls of the radiator regardless of the fact that one wall is positioned immediately behind the other. It will also be seen that a sufficient cooling area is obtained for all ordinary purposes and at the same time the radiator is arranged to occupy a minimum of space. Even when positioned above the engine, the radiator does not project high enough to obstruct the operators View. WVith the shifting partition in the position shown in Fig. 2, warm air is prevented from passing into the operators compartment, which, ofcourse, is as it should be, inasmuch as this is the position of the partition during the warmer seasons when heat in the operators compartment would be objectionable.

During the colder seasons the water in the radiator is generally cooled to a degree entirely too low to obtain the maximum en ciency from the engine, and thus by shifting the partition to its forward position of movement, all circulation of cold air in the rear radiator wall is cut OH and the warm air that has emerged from the forward radiator wall is directed upwardly by the fan through the passageway 26 and the rear wall to the drivers compartment. It is obvious that a position for the moving partitions may be so chosen that the upward radial currents of air may ust neutralize the downward currents, in which case the rear section becomes practically inactive.

In the modified form of my device shown in Fig. 4, it will be seen that I have arranged the radiator at the rear of the engine adj acent to the fly wheel. This arrangement of the radiator is the most convenient form to be employed where the engine is positioned in the front of a vehicle forward of the seat. In this form a fan carried on the fly wheel of the engine, or built integrally therewith,

is preferably employed. The shifting partitions in this form of my device consist of two hinged plates 27 mounted directly over the fan and provided with a pivoted cross piece 28 extending between them. An auxiliary stationary partition 29 is also employed and is arranged in position to co-act with the swinging plates 27. The operation ofthe device in this form is identical with that previously described. As will be seen from the arrows in dotted lines, a suction is created by the fan which, when the swinging plates are in the position shown in dotted lines, will draw the currents of air through both radiator walls. With the swinging plates in the position shown in heavy lines in said figure, the circulation of cold air through the rear radiator wall is prevented and part of the warm air thrown off radially by the fan is directed upwardly, as shown by the arrows, and rearwardly through the radiator wall to the drivers compartment.

The single modification of my device shown herein is deemed sufficient for present purposes, although it is obvious that my in vention is susceptible of other modifications, as, for instance, the fan may be arranged to impel the air through the radiator by pres sure instead of by suction.

It is to be understood that I do not desire to be limited in the interpretation of the following claims except as may be necessitated from the state of the prior art.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United whereby the circulation of cold air through one of said walls may be discontinued without affecting the movement of cold air through the other one of said walls.

2. A radiator having cooling walls spaced apart, means for drawing a current of air inwardly through both of said walls, and means for shutting off the inward current of air through one of said walls and substituting therefor an outward current.

3. In a vehicle, the combination of an engine, a radiator provided with a plurality of cooling walls and communicating with said engine, a stationary partition arranged between the cooling walls of said radiator, a fan arranged to draw a current or" air through both walls of said radiator, and a shifting partition arranged to co-act with said stationary partition to thereby cut off the suction of air through one of the cooling walls of said radiator and cause the air that has entered through the other cooling wall to be deflected into a compartment on said vehicle.

4:. In a vehicle, the combination of an engine, a radiator provided with a plurality of cooling walls/and communicating with said engine, a fan below said radiator, a

casing for said fan arranged to direct the suction created by the fan between the cooling walls of said radiator, a stationary partition between the walls of said radiator, and a movable partition arranged to co-act with said stationary partition and capable when in one position of its movement of permitting the suction created by said fan to act equally upon the cooling walls of said radiator and when in its other position of movement being capable of preventing the suction from said fan to act upon one of the cooling walls or" said radiator, and also being capable of directing the current thrown ed by said fan into a compartment in the vehicle.

5. A radiator having cooling walls spaced apart, means for drawing a current of air in one direction relative to the middle of the radiator through both of said walls, and means for shutting ofi the current of air through one or" said walls and substituting a current in a difi'erent direction.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK D. HOW'E.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

